Stuffed Mini Meatloafs w/ Veggies and Goat Cheese

These were so good and perfect little portion size.  Serve it up with this easy brown rice because they basically cook for the same amount of time.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds of lean ground turkey
• 2 tbs of balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbs of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes
• 2 small grated carrots
• 1/2 onion, 1/4 grated and 1/4 sliced or chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 handfuls of parsley, one for the meat, one for the rice
• 1 small zucchini, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 4 handfuls of arugula
• about 2 oz of goat cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F
2. In a bowl combine the first 9 ingredients (use the grated 1/4 of the onion).   
3. In a small skillet cook the zucchini and sliced 1/4 onion until soft. Set aside and let cool.
4. Roast your own red pepper on the stove top or used jarred. Slice into thin strips. 



From start to beginning

5. The meat should make about 4 baseball sized portions.  On a cutting board shape the meat flat and top with the cheese (reserving about a tab or small spoonful if making the rice as well), arugula, zucchini, onions and roasted red pepper.
6. Roll up the meat and then seal the edges.  Don't be afraid to get a handle on it and smoosh it around, just reshape into a small oval.
7. Place on a baking sheet coated with non stick spray and then spray the meat loaves as well.  
8. Cook for 45 mins to an hour or until cooked through and browned.

Brown Rice

Cook off the brown rice as directed, when done add the other handful of parsley and last tab of goat cheese. Stir until combined.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Some people cringe at cabbage, but it is so good for you and if you cook it the right way it really is delicious.  I know there are skeptics right now having flash backs to grandma boiling the crap out of cabbage and stinking up the whole house or your mom forcing you to eat it along side your corned beef for St. Paddy's Day.  Anyway, this recipe is nothing like that at all.  I love my cabbage usually crisp and tossed as a salad but this is probably, besides certain style soups and stir fry, the only way I eat cooked cabbage.  You can always change what is stuffed inside too.  First time I ever made this was with ground chicken for a healthier option.  The cauliflower makes a great addition with no carbs.  Honestly, you don't even really taste it as cauliflower but it helps create a nice texture for the stuffing, as well as also being good for you.

I also prepared this the night before and just refrigerated it overnight.  Then next day I just had my fiance pop in the oven and it was ready to eat when I got home from work.

Cabbage is a low calorie food that is packed with nutrition. Did I mention it's also super cheap! One cup of cabbage has only about 15 calories! It might be low cal, but it's high in Vitamins A, B, C and E, along with fiber and iron. This helps with digestion, skin, eyes, metabolism, and your immune system.

Ingredients

• One large head of cabbage.  I used Savoy this time, but I have also used just regular plain green cabbage.
• about 2-3 pounds of your choice of ground meat- I used beef
• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped small
• about one loose cup of Parmesan cheese (or two big handfuls)
• 1 (28oz) can of tomatoes (I used crushed, but use whatever you use for tomato sauce)
• 1-2 tsp of garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper for the "stuffing" and the sauce

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
2. Combine the meat, cauliflower, cheese and fresh black pepper in a bowl, set aside.

3. Get a large pot of water hot- it doesn't have to boil, we are just using it to soften the leaves of the cabbage so they come off easily and we don't rip them.

4. When the water is hot, cut the core out of the cabbage and put the whole head of cabbage in the pot.  As the leaves soften, either carefully using your hands or gently with tongs, peel the leaves off and set aside to drain and cool before we stuff and roll.
5. In a casserole dish or large pan (I had to use two pans to hold all my rolls) pour in and combine the tomatoes, garlic powder and red pepper flakes. Salt and pepper to taste.  I also mix it up with a splash of water if it looks too thick.  The sauce is just to help it cook without drying it out.  I reserve a bit to put up on top before I cook.
6. When the leaves are cool enough to handle we just stuff and roll the filling like a burrito.  I usually like to cut the large vein part out of the leaf so it is easier to roll but that is optional.

7. Just roll and stuff (as you get down to the center of the cabbage obviously the leaves become smaller so you will use a smaller amount of stuffing.


8. To roll: Place the meat on the rounded uncut end of the leaf, firmly but gently roll once, tuck in sides and roll again.  Place seam side down in the pan.  Just like a wrap or burrito.




9. When all your rolls are rolled, top with a bit of reserved tomato sauce and cover with tinfoil.

10. Bake covered for about 1- 1 1/2 hours.
11. I served along side some jasmine rice mixed with bulgar wheat.  You could also have stuffed the rice inside- just precook a cup to a cup and a half of rice and swap it with the cauliflower in the stuffing.

BBQ, Burgers, and Beer

This is how I plan on spending my Memorial Day Weekend!  I love Memorial Day Weekend, its like the official beginning of summer! BBQ's are blazing and what a better time than to share a couple of my (and a bunch of my friends) BBQ favs.

Forget those nasty frozen burgers- I don't eat those unless I'm at someone else's BBQ- they are frozen beef pucks, flavorless and full of fillers.  Making your own burgers is super easy- Once you know the procedure you can easily make meatloaf and meatballs too.  The best part about burgers is that there is endless possibilities.  Right now I am actually trying to come up with some ideas to submit into the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Contest. So lets get the basics down:

This burger I made the other day and it was just so simple and delicious I will share the recipe with you, I call it "The Original"

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb of ground chuck*
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 to 2 garlic cloves
• palm full of McCormick Montreal Steak Seasoning (this is an essential spice blend in my kitchen, I put that sh*! in everything ;) but if you don't have this just add salt, pepper, and some heat-like cayenne or red pepper flakes, but seriously invest in this seasoning it seriously is awesome for so many things)
• 1 egg
• about a handful of breadcrumbs
• Olive oil

Directions

• Mix all ingredients together (except oil) in a bowl just until it comes together- try and not over-mix it.  The heat from your hands will start to melt the fat and we don't want the fat to melt before cooking.  Also over mixing makes the meat tough. yuck.
• Form into patties, this recipe will prob make about 6 to 8.  Shape into regular hamburger rounds and then smoosh your thumb in the middle of each burger to make a little dent or well- this will help the burger cook evenly, and not bubble up in the middle (the dreaded burger bump), so all the stuff you pile on top wont be sliding off.
• Coat in oil and throw them on a hot grill.  Do not touch them, don't poke them, don't mess with them.  Cook your burgers medium- slightly pink in the middle- this makes the burger so much better than a tough well done one.  For medium, depending on the size of your burgers, I would do about 4 to 5 mins on each side.
• I just added a toasted bun and ketchup, but if you want cheese-throw the cheese on about 30 sec- 1 min before it's done.

Some grilling tips:

• Make the burgers a little bit bigger than the bun, because they will shrink up a bit when cooked
• For the love of all that's good eats- do not squish your burger down with the spatula- that only makes the good juices run out and you will end up with a dry burger and most likely flair ups from the grill.

Overwhelmed at the meat department?

• *Ground chuck:  I have used a lot of different ground meats to make burgers, but this has got to be my favorite ground beef to work with, it is so delicious.  Ground chuck is ground from a single cut of beef (the shoulder), just "ground beef" can have meat from all over the animal.
• Ground Beef: Regular ground beef is usually a combo of two or more cuts of beef.  When you see the ground beef labeled as 80/20, 93/7 etc, this is the lean meat to fat ratio.  Even though it's not the healthiest choice-80/20 or 85/15 (which ground chuck is) are better because the fat adds flavor and moisture to the end result.
• Ground sirloin: this is a piece of ground sirloin lol (middle of the cow) its a leaner ground choice around the 90/10 area.
• Sometimes you will see ground hamburger: now this is like the mystery ground beef lol, it basically is all the trimmings (inside and out) ground up all together- ugh I would stay away from this
• Ground round: its a ground beef from the round of the cow (like london broil, or round roast- the back of the cow, like the top leg) its about 85/15
• Meatloaf mix: this is a mix of beef, veal, and pork- mainly used for meatloafs and meatballs.

I have found that the leaner the meat the more expensive it is- when you go to pick out your meat- you will notice this right away

Not into beef? Try ground turkey.  This is my chili turkey burger with green peppers. yum!